Joshua and Judges: The doctrine of leadership part 94 - Essential qualities of leadership: The filling of the Spirit; Overcoming the power and influence of Satan; Eph 6:10-18.

Title: Joshua and Judges: The doctrine of leadership part 94 - Essential qualities of leadership: The filling of the Spirit; Overcoming the power and influence of Satan; EPH 6:10-18.

 

Announcements / opening prayer:  

 

 

EPH 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 

Next we have the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The sword is mainly an offensive weapon, but it is also a defensive weapon.

 

The Romans used a short sword called the gladius [machaira in Greek] which was about 18-24 inches long. It was sharpened on both edges and pointed. It was ideal for close combat and thrust attacks. We will find ourselves in close contact with Satan and the kingdom of darkness, at times.

 

When our Lord was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, the word of God was the weapon of His choice. With all the weapons available to Him, this is very significant to us.

 

It is obvious that the sword represents the word of God in action or applied to life, people, and circumstances and the attacks that come upon the believer from each. The sword is no good while it remains in its sheath, nor is it any good in the hand of the unskilled and unconditioned.

 

It is also significant to us that Satan also elected to use the word of God in one of his temptations but quoted it out of context in a blatant misinterpretation. We must all be careful of this. The better you know the Word of God, the easier it will be for you to detect Satan's lies and reject his offers.

 

We attack (expose) and parry (ward off an attack and then countermove; i.e. defend our faith) with the word of God which is only understood by means of the Spirit.

 

We are always ready to defend and to attack, meaning, exposing the lies that enslave and blind the human race. This takes skill with the word of God just like a Roman infantryman needed skill to correctly wield the gladius. The person propagating the lies may have knowledge of scripture and so you can use specific verses to expose the lie. He may not know any scripture and so verses mean nothing to him. His erroneous views may have come from any of hundreds of sources. We don't have scripts to read when defending the truth and exposing lies. We must do so from our own wealth of understanding God's truth. This is the skill of the sword of the Spirit within the individual believer.

 

In defending truth and exposing lies may not involve another person at all. It is more usual that we are dealing with truth and lies concerning ourselves. Satan attacks with the lie, dressed up as a principle of light. It is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It is Jacob dressed up as Esau.

 

With skill we wield the sword of the Spirit and take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ.

 

2CO 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,

 

2CO 10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

 

The fortresses are the frameworks that Satan uses to move into position the bulwarks of his lies, all throughout society.  Remember, we expose them and defend against them; we cannot eradicate them.

 

2CO 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God [by exposing them], and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ [and therefore are able to determine truth or lie],

 

2CO 10:6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience [false teachers in Corinth], whenever your obedience is complete [when you fully reject them].

 

EPH 6:17

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 

So the word, which is the mind of Christ who is the living word, cannot be separated from the Spirit. Like terminals on a battery, if one is disconnected power will not flow. Like the gladius was useless unless it was in the hands of a skilled infantry soldier, so the word of God is useless without the hand of the Holy Spirit.

 

HEB 4:12

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

 

Of all the swords constructed by men from the gladius to the broad sword to the samurai sword that have cut through thousands of people's flesh, none come close to the sharpness of the word of God. While the man-made swords cut through flesh only the word of God can cut down to the invisible soul, spirit, and heart.

 

1CO 2:6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;

 

1CO 2:7 but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory;

 

1CO 2:8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;

 

1CO 2:9 but just as it is written,

"Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And  which have not entered the heart of man ,

All that God has prepared for those who love Him."

 

1CO 2:10 For to us God revealed them [God's wisdom in a mystery] through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

 

EPH 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 

Peter tried to use a sword to defend Jesus in the Garden; but he learned at Pentecost that the "sword of the Spirit" does a much better job. Moses also tried to conquer with physically when he killed an Egyptian taskmaster, only to discover that God's Word alone was more than enough to defeat Egypt.

 

1SA 2:9

"He keeps the feet of His godly ones,

But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;

For not by might shall a man prevail."

 

We have identified six items: the belt, the breastplate, the shoes, the shield, the helmet, and the sword. It would seem odd to an expositor to only find six instead of seven and so we look to the seventh in the next verse.

 

Prayer is a vital part of the Christian soldier since it is his constant communication with headquarters and his Commanding Officer.

 

EPH 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,